What is Mastery?
There are questions that require reflection from every educator, regardless of what they teach. Some very important ponderings for teachers include the following: What constitutes excellence in a particular skill or field? How do we know when our students have mastered a particular subject? How do we even define the word mastery? This last question is especially interesting to me given how often I hear the phrase “ball mastery” in soccer coaching circles. I don’t think I ever gave too much thought into defining the phrase until I began planning the formation of The Rising Point. Part of the mission of our organization is to provide quality teaching through the subject of soccer. This means that we must constantly reflect on whether or not our terminology and our methods are effective for the players we work with.
When coaches talk about “ball mastery” what they envision are players who can successfully navigate situations on the field by virtue of their fantastic control of the ball. This is important, however, in order to be masterful on the field, there are other elements that every quality player must possess. If coaches don’t actively train these elements or dive deeper into how proper control manifests itself in matches then we shortchange our players. Therefore, in the interest of teaching, perhaps we would produce better players if we reflected on how we might place terms such as “ball mastery” in their proper context. In order for students to truly absorb and own their learning, it helps if they understand the purpose of whatever exercise they are engaged in. To be clear, the issue is not just that too much individual ball work during a team training session is a waste of time. The real problem lies in educators (coaches) failing to explain to their students what specifically is being enhanced with each method and how it helps them become better at the sport.
When coaches don’t reflect on their learning targets, and how to make them accessible to the players, the results are poor training sessions. Players spend far too much time doing isolated ball work or drills that bear no relation to the actual game. An example of this is the coach who has their players performing prescribed “moves”, often unopposed through cones or with very minimal pressure. Ostensibly, this helps players develop the ability to beat defenders on the dribble. However, and I’ve witnessed this time and time again, when those same players are put into realistic soccer situations they are unable to replicate the actions they performed in training. Now comes the challenge, we must ask ourselves why.
How come our youth soccer players are routinely incapable of translating what they learn in training to the actual game? Upon further reflection, perhaps this question is flawed because it ignores the reality that it is entirely possible (actually very easy) to learn bad habits. Maybe a better question is: What specifically are players working on and learning during their practices that influences how they perform in games? If we can assume that they are taking something away from their training then the question becomes what exactly are they getting?
What they are getting is poor teaching masked by fancy terms like “ball mastery”, “select”, “premier”, and “A team” and so on. In this environment, often the coaches’ response when their players fail to make good decisions in a game situation is to be critical of the player. Fair enough, that is part of the description of what it means to be a coach. At the same time, it is entirely unfair and unproductive if coaches are not also critical of their own methods (even more so than being critical of the players). Locally, the training methodology used by many coaches and their clubs is in need of serious reflection and a paradigm shift. Todd Beane, Founder of TOVO Football Academy, writes about this eloquently in his blog.
I had the chance to meet Todd in the summer of 2016 during TOVO’s visit to Seattle for a training camp. We didn’t get a chance to talk as much as I would have liked—I had so many questions and he had a camp to run—but I did mention to him how much his work and his words spoke to me as a fellow footballer and teacher. One of the things I took away from this encounter was the need for coaches to be very intentional with the words we use to describe certain things because of the effect our terminology has on the players we wish to impact. From speaking to him, and reading about his academy, I know that one of his driving forces is being a coach who constantly reflects on the effectiveness of his teaching.
The Rising Point is born out of a similar drive, which is why we want to constantly define our targets for ourselves as well as our players. If we have a goal for our players then we must be intentional and define what it is. We must break it down into actionable parts that we can enhance through training. From what I’ve observed based on how they train, the prevailing mentality at many youth clubs is that players must be encoded with a certain number of ball exercises or “moves” in order to develop the tools (technique) to play effectively. This is the mindset that produces the poor training sessions previously mentioned. These feature mindless dribbling exercises and games with unrealistic conditions designed to get players to successfully accomplish the prescribed action. I disagree with this paradigm because it doesn’t adequately reflect what constitutes high performance in the game of soccer. Furthermore, this methodology does a disservice to the learning process that we all go through in order to become truly competent at anything.
The reality is that high performance in soccer requires, above all else, the ability to find solutions to situations that arise on the field with varying degrees of difficulty (complexity). Problem solving requires first being aware of the situation at hand and then making an intentional decision to execute a certain action in order to solve the issue. Believe it or not, the players who compete for FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League go through the same processes and perform the same actions that 13 year-old youth players are tasked with in their Sunday league games. Honestly, the game itself is the same. A crucial difference in the personnel is that better players read and anticipate the game faster, which allows them to make quicker and more effective decisions. This is a prerequisite for competing at a high level because there is less time and space afforded to players due to the athleticism and intelligence of their opponents.
So, how to define the word mastery for the benefit of our young players? What does it mean and how do we know when they’ve reached it? First, there has to be a context for it. Simply put, this means there has to be a problem to be solved or a task to be accomplished. In a soccer context this means that, at the very least, there must be an opponent in order for players to effectively learn soccer movements with the ball. If there is not then the learning is compromised because players are not forced to make decisions. Again, this does not mean that individual training on the ball is not important for aspiring players. Rather, it means that we need to be honest with our players about what exactly they are training and accomplishing with each method that we use. Isolated training in the form of individual ball discovery is a great way for players to train certain habits such as balance, foot-eye coordination, and individual ball control. However, being able to manipulate a ball expertly (without pressure) will not make someone better at playing soccer if they don’t train the truly crucial elements of elite performance.
If I was tasked with coming up with a mathematical equation to describe the crucial elements that make up mastery then I think it might look something like this:
For any given context or complex problem (C), A+I=S.
C is a situation of complexity such as in any given sports scenario, A is awareness, I means intentionality, and S represents a solution. In one sentence I would describe it this way:
Developing mastery means dealing with a complex situation (C) by using one’s awareness (A) and intentional action (I) in order to find an effective solution (S).
I believe this definition works across disciplines and for any task we set our minds to. It’s true in sports, for math, and even for architecture and engineering. As far as soccer is concerned, if we want players to achieve a high level then perhaps we need to actually train the cognitive processes that players utilize at the highest level. The best players are constantly checking their shoulders and scanning to see where pressure is coming from and where the open spaces are. They purposefully make actions (with the ball and without it) based on their reading of the situation. They do this at a high speed over, and over, and over again. If we can constantly reflect and be intentional about our methods as educators then our kids can learn how to do this. They would be able to show their learning during matches when they revert back to whatever they are taking away from their practices.
One more very important point about soccer, problem solving, and learning: not every player solves problems the same way and that is perfectly fine! Truthfully, it is the beauty of sport (especially soccer) that there could be various solutions to any given problem. The problems may be the same (how to score goals for example) but the individual is free to find their own way to solve them. Michael Jordan’s hang-time and contortions as he soared to the rim were not just for show. They were his solution to the challenge of finishing in the paint against defenders. The great Spanish midfield duo of Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez did not move identically when they played together. They each have their own signature way of protecting the ball and relieving pressure. What is important to understand is that they use their own attributes as players and as people to come up with effective ways of executing decisions (individual technique) in order to solve problems. If we allow players to experience the game from a young age, and they work hard enough, then they will eventually come up with ways of solving problems without being told what “move” to do. They will recognize the moments and they will do what they see fit to solve complexity. When that happens we will know that they have achieved a relative level of mastery and it is a thing of beauty.
During our initial training camp for The Rising Point, we worked primarily with high school age players with relatively little to no club soccer experience. These players play most of their competitive ball at their local high school during a 3-month spring season. Other than that, most of them are not in any substantive training environments for the rest of the year. What instantly became clear as the week progressed was that our teaching was having an effect because we provided the players with the proper context for what they were learning. We challenged them to be aware of their surroundings and to manage their positioning on the field. Additionally, the exercises were intentionally structured in order to make it easier for the athletes to transfer their actions from small groups to the bigger game. We never did anything without making it clear what we were trying to accomplish and how it helps them as players. As we engaged their minds, they were able to get a little closer to mastering the game at their respective level. It was a blast and this is only the beginning. The beautiful thing about mastery is that there is always another level to be reached. Goodbye 2016, there is so much more to come.
